For devices such as telephones, PDAs, and computers, it is desirable to provide a mechanism that allows a user to adjust the height and/or angle at which the device is positioned for use. The visual display for a conventional desktop telephone or other communication device may need to be placed at a particular angle so that the user can view the display without glare or to otherwise maximize visibility. In the case of a desktop telephone, the visual display may be provided within a single housing along with the telephone keypad. In the case of a laptop computer, the screen of the laptop computer rotates independently of the keyboard; however, the screen must be placed at a particular angle so that the user may best view the screen. With respect to other communication devices such as PDAs, one or more keypad controls are co-located with a screen display, and viewability of the screen is maximized at a particular angular position.
Providing a reliable mechanism to select and set the angle of the device is important in enabling the user to effectively use the device. Particularly for devices such as desktop telephones, the angle at which the telephone display is set is important since the telephone display may not be particularly bright or large, and any misalignment of the display may make viewing very difficult.
Mechanisms to control the angle at which a desktop telephone is placed have been provided in various forms. One prior art mechanism for providing an adjustable angle is a ratchet tilt mechanism. This mechanism enables a user to select a particular angular orientation for the telephone display through a ratcheting feature incorporated in the housing of the telephone.
While the ratchet tilt mechanism may be commonly used in many desktop telephones, adjustment components like the ratchet feature can be unreliable and often fail immediately after assembly or after the telephone has been in use for only a short time. Furthermore, many tilt mechanisms do not allow the user to easily adjust fine positioning of the angle of the telephone display, and therefore are not user-friendly.
Therefore, there is a need to provide a mechanically simple, yet reliable tilt mechanism to enable the user to easily adjust and set the angle at which a device is to be used.